■ Former treasurer accused of stealing as much as $20,000; judge agrees to continue to January

Former Benicia Old Town Theatre Group treasurer Kimble Goodman once again appeared before Solano County Judge Tim Kam on Friday, and once again, his attorney, Jeannette Garcia, requested a continuance because of new discoveries in the case.

Kam slated the next appearance at 10 a.m. Jan. 30, with a preliminary hearing at 10 a.m. Feb. 2.

When Kam last heard Goodman’s case Oct. 24, Garcia told the judge she had discovered just that week that she hadn’t received one bank statement from Bank of the West, where the theater company had its accounts.

At Friday’s appearance, Garcia held up several large manila envelopes she said contained newly received statements. She said she had gotten the documents last month and had not had time since Nov. 18 to complete a review.

She told Kam that after she completes that study, she may ask for a subpoena for other evidence.

“This issue keeps arising,” Kam said Friday before giving Garcia a chance to tell him when her office had received the bank statements from Deputy District Attorney Leo Mangoba.

Garcia said she also wanted a forensic accountant to examine the documents.

When Kam agreed to grant the continuance, he told both prosecuting and defense attorneys to meet and speak with Benicia police. “Make sure you have everything,” he said.

Goodman, a career banker and former chairperson of the Benicia Economic Development Board, had been a member of the Benicia Old Town Theatre Group (BOTTG) for about five years and had been BOTTG treasurer since 2010. Its board discovered in March 2013 that between $12,000 and $15,000 — and perhaps as much as $20,000 — was missing from its several accounts.

The losses were discovered when a member of the board attempted to obtain the rights for performances of “The Sunshine Boys” for the fall 2013 season. The rights company, Samuel French, said the community theater group owed them for the rights of two previous productions and that it was on suspension after a check had bounced.

Board members discovered that money was gone from three theater company accounts, including the building fund, and reported the losses to Benicia police.

After a Benicia police investigation, the Solano County District Attorney’s office issued a felony warrant for Goodman’s arrest, bringing a single charge of embezzlement against him.

Goodman was arrested April 19, 2013, and through his first attorney, Amy Morton, denied the accusation. He suggested at the time the loss may have been related to negligent comingling of funds, and said there was no connection to his own Chapter 7 bankruptcy filing the previous January.

Since then, Goodman has had a succession of public defender attorneys, contributing to the case’s delays.

At a readiness conference Dec, 20, 2013, Goodman said he would plead no contest to the charge and begin paying restitution to BOTTG the next month.

By then, Morton had been replaced by Dan Russo, who later cited a conflict of interest and was replaced with Public Defender Damian Spieckerman. Garcia is Goodman’s latest representative.

Goodman said Friday he didn’t know whether the additional information Garcia has been seeking would help his case.

Meanwhile, Dyanne Vojvoda, long-time theater company publicist, said it appeared Kam was growing “perturbed” at the multiple delays — a frustration she and other members of BOTTG share. “It will be two years in March,” she said.

She noted Kam’s order that the attorneys meet with local law enforcement, but said, “Benicia police did a thorough investigation.”

She said members of the theater company have grown closer because of the case. “It’s changed our lives.” She credited community support for the theater group’s survival.

Also changed are how finances are handled, Vojvoda said, not only by BOTTG but also other local nonprofits whose representatives have spoken with the board.

“They tell us, ‘It could have been us,’” she said.